Virginia Beach

After a busy start to the summer, we finally went on vacation!! This year the Joachim family vacationed together in Virginia Beach. My in-laws were extremely generous and rented a beautiful beach house for all of us to enjoy. 10 adults and 7 kids made for lots of fun in the sun!


1. Beach and Boogie Boarding. Going to the beach wouldn't be complete without playing on the beach and boogie boarding. The kids buried each other in the sand, helped Aunt Maddy dig an awesome hole, and collected clams, or "clowns", as Allie called them. Zach and Matt loved boogie boarding and diving under the waves. Allie loved jumping the waves and getting splashed. It's amazing how many hours these kids spent playing in the ocean. Who knew jumping waves could be so fun hour after hour? I think these pics define vacation:

2. Adventure Parasail. That's the name of the company we used to go parasailing. I think the name should have been "Adventures in Parasailing", instead. The last time Tom and I went parasailing was on our honeymoon, 11 years ago. We were very excited about going again and taking our kids up for a ride. So we all get on the boat and the captain begins to explain how it all works. Then he goes on the explain the worst case scenario. Should there be a boat or rope malfunction don't worry because everything floats. We'll just come and get you. Well, we WERE the worst case scenario!!!! While Tom, Zach and I were up 1200 FEET in the air, THE ROPE BROKE!!!!!!!! Before the rope broke, we were having a great time and Zach had just said, "this is a lot funner than I thought". Just then, we felt this sharp jolt and look down to see the end of the rope flapping in the wind. Tom and I both panic, but we have Zach to worry about. As we are now parachuting, we tell him everything is going to be OK and that we are just going to get wet. We hit the water and go under, but it was just like jumping into a swimming pool from a diving board. We quickly bounce back up and continue to reassure Zach, and ourselves, that everything floats and the boat is on its way to pick us up. As we wait, for what seemed like hours, a gust of wind caught the parachute and pulled Tom and Zach under the water a few times. At that point, real panic set in and Zach lost it. Finally, a crew member jumped in and began to remove the harnesses. We all made it out safely and have a great story to tell, but are so grateful that nothing more serious happened. We found out later that Matt got mad because Zach got to go into the water.

Moments before our parasail became our parachut:


3. Uncle Dave and Aunt Kristine. A Joachim family vacation wouldn't be complete without Uncle Dave and Aunt Kristine. Last year the boys got "hooked" on fishing in Idaho. This year, the boys got to fishing in Virginia with Dave and Kristine. Not only did they just catch fish and crab, but we had a great dinner Tuesday night!



Yes, the crabs on the plate are the same as those in the bucket.


4. Motorworld. We took a day off from the beach and found Motorworld! Allie stayed home with Grandma and Grandpa while we introduced Zach and Matt to the world of Go-Karts. We survived despite not understanding any of the employees with either their strong Eastern European accents or their deep southern drawls. It was depressing for me realizing my boys are now old and tall enough for these kind of rides. Bye-bye kiddie rides.


5. Cousins, cousins, and cousins. It was great for Zach, Matt, and Allie to spend a week with their cousins. The boys tried to convert their Arizona cousins to Phillies fans but most of the time, Phineus and Ferb won the toss up.




We did have our fair share of lows for the week like Grandpa Tom bodysurfing and breaking his scapula within the first hour of vacation, the broken washing machine or, my favorite, the power going out because the owner hadn't paid the electric bill. But we definitely had more high than lows. Thanks Grandma and Grandpa for a wonderful vacation!